Don’t get me wrong, this totally sucks for the rider. I mean who wants to pay more for when the demand for a ride is high?

But….

For the driver this is flipping awesome. If you are in an area that is “surging” 2.0x, then that means the trip will be 2x the regular price.

This means double the money you make for the same work.

A great time to drive with Uber is when the price is surging because that means it’s really busy and you can make a lot more money.

Down Time-

Depending who you are, this can be either a pro or a con. If there’s downtime then that means you’re waiting for somebody to request a ride.

If you are looking to take a lot of trips this can suck. But, if you want to take your time and read a book in between trips then downtime can make your experience relaxing.

It just all depends how you want to look at it. I’ll play Papa Pear or Candy Crush during my downtime. The game’s entertaining so I don’t always think about how long it’s been since my last trip.

Uber Partner Driver Discounts-

When you drive with Uber you’re running your own business, and using your personal stuff like your car and phone, for example. This obviously costs money having to pay for everything yourself.

Uber does partner up with other companies so you can receive discounts on stuff you already use.

For example, you can get discounts on:

Your phone bill like Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint.

Discounts on tires or oil changes from places like Auto-zone.

I did not name everything, but getting 8-22% off your AT&T phone bill can help a lot, especially when you are using the phone frequently.

Seeing New Places

My dream is to travel and see the world. Yes, even Antarctica. They have pink icebergs and penguins:). But, even if you live in a city like San Francisco there’s a good chance you haven’t seen the whole area.

Driving with Uber let’s me discover those hidden gems and where the nightlife hangs out so I can create my own destinations for those places later when I’m not working.

Plus, you can’t forget about all the people that you talk to during your rides that will give you a few pointers on the best bars, restaurants, and fun activities to do around town. And everyone has a different perspective.

Cons Of Being An Uber Driver

You have to take the good with the bad, and like I said, no job is perfect. While I personally feel the pros outweigh the cons, it’s still only fair for me to talk about the negative side as well. So, let’s jump into the cons of driving for Uber.

Rider Bad Ratings Lead To Being Deactivated-

Honestly, I don’t look at this as such a bad thing, but I know some do. Uber’s app does a rating system for driver-partners and riders alike. You can rate them from 1-5 stars.

If your average rating falls below I think a 4.6 or 4.7 star rating average then you will be deactivated and no longer allowed to drive with Uber. Some disagree with this, and I do think the rating system could be improved upon, but the whole point is to ensure everyone is accountable for their behavior when interacting with other people using the app.

If you can’t do that, then your ratings will be bad, you’ll be deactivated, and you’ll probably deserve it. Most people rate me a 5 star. It’s not hard to get them. Just don’t p**s off your passenger. Maybe play some music or offer gum.

Car Maintenance-

As an independent contractor, you have to pay for expenses. Since you would be driving a car with Uber, this means you need to maintain your vehicle.

I know the cost can be dreadful at times, but your car won’t last long if you aren’t keeping up on a consistent basis.

Oil change, new tires, new brakes, lights fixed, etc… Keep up with maintenance so you can stay on the road to make money. And, keep your receipts. Even though you are paying for these expenses you may be able to get tax deductions because of them.

This includes the miles you drive as well. so keep your gas receipts.

Conclusion

There really aren’t that many cons to driving for Uber. I know some people will say what about car insurance or car payments? Why didn’t I add that?

The thing is, that’s stuff you are already paying for before you ever decide to drive with Uber. So, why count a fixed expense that’s technically not related to your Uber work expenses?

And if you’re one of the people that decided to buy a car just so you can drive with Uber, then think about the cost of everything and if it would be worth it.

Also think about the flexibility. I was sick the other day (ear infection and cold) and so I took a few days off to get better. When I worked at Domino’s Pizza, I always had to fight through my sickness because we never had enough people.

That’s my point to why I love Uber so much.

Let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are on the benefits of driving with Uber and share with your friends to get their intake as well.

Comments

I hear uber takes a lot of the cash through hidden expenses so at the end of the day people earn very little, is this true are there hidden costs? doe uber work well in rural areas like it does in the cities? what are the rules if a passengers is being inappropriate?

I’m not sure exactly what you mean by this but I will say a few things. You are paid 75% of the per minute and per mile rate while you have passengers in your car. Uber does have a booking fee which is not part of your income. One of the expensive cost of driving for Uber is up-keeping your car. You pay for the wear and tear.

Does Uber work well in rural areas?

Even in cities you are not guaranteed to make bank driving for Uber. However, every market is different and I honestly can’t say without driving in that area.

You have to test your market to see if it would work for you. Try it out for a few weeks and figure out your cost and profit of driving. If it works great! If not, then try something else. Many people will make good money in the same markets others claim to be losing money in.

What are thee rules if a passenger is being inappropriate?

I don’t believe you should ever have to be in a situation where you feel uncomfortable. I would ask them to calm their behavior, and if they don’t listen then you have every right to kick them out for unruly behavior. Just be sure to report the issue to Uber so they get your side of the story.

Glad you enjoyed the read. As far as statistics go, I don’t the ratio 100%. But, I’m sure it’s somewhere around 75% male, 25% female, but don’t quote me on that number. I do know the percenatage of females has gone up since the beginning.

As far as “Scared for my life.” No, I’ve never been in those types of situations. Most people are pleasant the I pick up.

I have been hearing a little about Uber but did not know much about the details. I agree with all the pro benefits that working for yourself will be a major plus.

On the con side of things as you mentioned there will always be things about any job one will not like. That’s life!

Something people do need to realize as you have already mentioned, you’re already paying for insurance, but if your being paid to drive people around, your vehicle insurance will need to be changed over to commercial to have proper coverage.

Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you found the article useful and can agree that there are cons in any job (For Uber I think the benefits outweigh the cons). I will have to disagree with you though on the insurance part. You are correct, in some areas your insurance could drop you unless you get commercial insurance for driving, but not every company is like this.

At the moment, Uber only requires you to have insurance that meets your states minimum requirements (usually means liability). Of course, a lot of of insurance companies will drop you if they find out you are driving for Uber.

Which, for that reason, I’m sure is why you said you need to have commercial which can be pretty expensive (I’ve looked into it myself).

However, some companies, like Metromile, are being created for the ride-sharing community.

Metromile, for example, is an insurance company that only charges you for the miles you drive while you are not Ubering passengers around. The miles you drive while online for Uber do not count.

This means the less you drive outside of Uber, the less you pay for car insurance. They do have a base (I believe around $50 that you pay per month plus the miles you drive (cost 20 cents or so… per mile)

So if you were to drive 200 miles in a month on your personal time at 20 cents a mile you would be paying $90 for the month($50 base + $40 for miles driven).

Of course, insurance varies person to person so you could be paying less per mile or more for the base charge, but there are companies out there that can actually save you money on insurance if you don’t drive a lot.

Plus, it’s wayyyy cheaper than commercial insurance.

So, depending where you live, and what’s available for insurance, you will not need to get commercial insurance.

Plus it doesn’t make sense for an Uber driver that does this part time to get commercial insurance. It wouldn’t make driving worth it and would ruin Uber’s business model.

Prices would also go up for consumers because there would be a lot less drivers on the road to help meet supply and demand.

Thanks Brandon for detailing the ins and outs of Uber driving. I’ll be honest, I only just recently learned what Uber driving was (and what “Uber” was, for that matter — I know it’s a US-based company). I’m open for good solid work and this definitely looks like a very interesting opportunity. Unfortunately though I live in Canada so unless I moved into a city they’re operating in I wouldn’t be able to take any action. Does Uber operate in any countries other than the US?

Don’t feel bad if you just discovered Uber. There’s a lot of people still learning what Uber is. I do feel it’s a great opportunity. Uber does operate and over 60 countries and Canada is one of them. Not every city is gonna have it, but you can check to see if your city is available by clicking here.